The Health Disparities Poster Competition is a University-wide event. Two students from Pitt Public Health received awards during this year's competition. Congratulations to JOHN WRIGHT CORDIER (HPM '18) and CRISTIAN CHANDLER (BCHS '18).

In conjunction with Dean's Day, YUAE PARK (BCHS '20) was awarded with the Center for Public Health Practice Award for Translation and Application of Research to Public Health Policy and Practice. In addition, EMMA GOSSARD (BCHS '18) and LYCIA TRAMUJAS VACONCELLOS NEUMANN (BCHS '19) were awarded with the Catherine Cartier Ulrich Memorial Award for Service to the Underserved.

EPI's MARNIE BERTOLET is among the facilitator's for the workshop Transforming Curriculum to Be More Inclusive, happening on May 10. All facilitators of this session are Provost's Diversity Award winners.
Part of a rich series of workshops happening May 3-16 on associated topics like structural racism and bringing global perspectives to our fields and our courses.

Jane Cauley was appointed as a Distinguished Professor, the highest honor that can be accorded to a member of the professorate at Pitt. Such a designation recognizes eminence in several fields of study, transcending accomplishments in and contributions to a single discipline, in addition to national recognition.
At the ceremony, Cauley gave a presentation entitled Pivotal Directions and People in my 30-Year Osteoporosis Journey. Congratulati...

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER - Pitt Public Health analysis found that the years of life lost declined by 28 percent among blacks, over the 25 years that were studied. “We were glad to see this," said DEAN DONALD BURKE. "Every year of life is precious. Asking how much premature or avoidable death there was, is a way of comparing how much life was left on the table and how much we are improving.”

HEALIO - Patients treated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy will incur on average $30,000 to $36,000 in additional costs aside from drug expenses, according to a research letter published in JAMA Oncology. "It is important to quantify the total costs of these therapies to account for them when doing pharmacoeconomic evaluations and deciding on their coverage," said INMACULADA HERNANDEZ (HPM '16).

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - A proposal by the EPA administrator that aims to limit the scientific research that the agency can use to set rules illustrates a widening rift between republicans and the scientific community. If finalized, the action would limit studies only to those whose data is publicly available. In environmental health research perfect, randomized, double-blind clinical studies aren’t possible, says EOH's BERNARD GOLDSTEIN.

WESA-FM - Black Americans have historically lived shorter lives than whites, but BIOS’s JEANINE BUCHANICH found that the years of life lost gap has narrowed significantly since 1990. “It seems to show us that racial disparity and health outcome is not inevitable. Now it’s time to do some further study to see why this happened and how we can build on it.”

On April 28, 2018, Pitt Public Health celebrated recent graduates with awards given upon the culmination of a degree program. Delta Omega's honor society inductees were announced and outstanding thesis/essay and dissertation awards were conferred. Outstanding Student Awards were also given at both the master's and doctoral level, as well as Dean's Service Awards.

Congratulations to EOH's AARON BARCHOWSKY who received the award for the passion and interest with which he teaches, for always encouraging his students, and his constant work to improve as an instructor. As one nominator put it, "He respects students and he is the best professor I've known."

STAT / KAISER HEALTH NEWS - He was surgeon general under President Franklin Roosevelt. He’s been lauded for turning sexually transmitted diseases from a moral failing into a medical concern. During the height of segregation, he acknowledged the need to stem health disparities between black and white America.
Thomas Parran Jr. has also been called an architect of the syphilis experiments on black men and women in Tuskegee, Ala. While surgeon g...

PITT WIRE - In Pitt's graduate student address, EPI doctoral graduate LARA SIMINERIO LEMON told the audience: "You only have one life. So do what you choose with it but remember: it's the only chance you'll get ... Please do not lose the momentum that Pitt has provided to each one of us ... get out there and do what you're trained to do." (View photo gallery)

NEW YORK TIMES - Researchers created a device that can test a drop of blood to tell, in about half an hour, who's immune to certain infections and who's not. The goal is to find groups of people at risk of outbreaks, especially in impoverished and remote areas, in time to save lives. "We need to develop cheaper and more efficient ways to detect outbreaks earlier," said IDM's ERNESTO MARQUES. “This may be one step in that direction.”

PITT WIRE - Led by IDM's TONY SILVESTRE, the Pitt Public Health project serves as the facilitator of the HIV prevention and care community planning process in Pennsylvania. With initiatives like Acceptance Journeys and Project SILK, the work has received recognition from multiple federal health bodies in recent years, helping Pennsylvania set the national standard for integrated HIV planning.

REUTERS - "Caffeine in utero may change how the brain develops," said EPI's LISA BODNAR. "This is important because the brain has a strong influence over appetite." Caffeine passes rapidly through the placenta and has been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage and restricted fetal development, previous research has found.

HOME HEALTH CARE NEWS - Because of the nature of hospice being separate, Medicare Advantage plans are not as familiar with the benefit and its overall costs. “There is a fair amount of uniformity in the concerns around a carve-in…the fact this has been regulated to be off their radar, they don’t have data on [hospice],” says HPM's JULIA DRIESSEN. “[There’s] no incentive for them to understand the hospice landscape.”

It's that time again. Submit your suggestions for next year's One Book, One Community title. We will be celebrating 10 years of this initiative that has encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends through reading a shared book relative to public health.

TRIB LIVE - Penn Hills School District will host a safety discussion for eighth grade and high school students and families. There will be a panel of student athletes and coaches, representatives from the municipal police department, United Way, Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and BCHS's LIZ MILLER. It's a great opportunity to see what resources are available at the high school, everything from social to physical safety.

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Simply click to share news of your achievements -- and those of classmates or colleagues. We're eager to hear about and share stories of student, faculty, and alumni accomplishments. Email questions to phcomm@pitt.edu or visit publichealth.pitt.edu/sharenews.

YNGBLKPGH. What does Pittsburgh mean to 140 young black professionals?

PITTWIRE - Pitt alum Brian Burley (BUS ’13G) continues to highlight young black leaders and create community ties through his www.YngBlkPgh.com site. This social enterprise started with his book “YNGBLKPGH” (Young Black Pittsburgh) which features more than 140 African-American professionals und... (07/23/2018)

PITTWIRE - Doctoral alumna CHELSEA PALLATINO (BCHS ’17) has been awarded the Steven D. Manners Faculty Development Award by the University Center for Social and Urban Research to support her pilot research project entitled “Co-occurring Intimate Partner Violence and Substance Use: Understanding B... (07/19/2018)

Innovation Institute recognized at Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

PITTWIRE - The University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute was recognized for its commitment to building programs that accelerate innovations from the laboratory and research into commercialization at the recent Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education. Alumni EVA... (07/02/2018)

ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - Several states are likely dramatically underestimating the effect of opioid-related deaths because of incomplete death certificate reporting, with Pennsylvania leading the pack, according to a new analysis by Pitt Public Health. “Proper allocation of resources for the opioid e... (07/19/2018)

Pittsburgh finds overdose risk quintuples with opioid and Benzodiazepine use

ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - In the first 90 days of concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine use, the risk of opioid-related overdose increases five-fold compared to opioid-only use among Medicare recipients. "Having multiple prescribers who are not in communication increases the risk for overdose,” says HPM... (07/02/2018)

Pitt Public Health finds ‘good cholesterol’ may not always be good for postmenopausal women

ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - Postmenopausal factors may have an impact on the heart-protective qualities of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) – also known as ‘good cholesterol.' “The results of our study are particularly interesting to both the public and clinicians because total HDL cholesterol is still us... (06/25/2018)